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Category Archives: Natural Hair Chronicles

Whenever I feel the urge to tame my mane, give my curly fro’ a break and sport a fun and flirty hairstyle, I pull out my flexi rods. If you’re a curl-lover and you’re looking for long-lasting heatless, bouncy, beautiful curls, flexi rod sets are an awesome option. Flexi rod sets look amazing on relaxed, transitioning and natural hair. They create elongated corkscrew curls in various sizes and will definitely have the lady next to you tapping your shoulder, wanting to know how you achieved those beautiful curls. 🙂

Flexi rod sets were my go-to hairstyle during my transitioning phase. They did an awesome job of blending my two textures and were so easy to maintain. They are also a great low-manipulation hairstyle. Low-manipulation hairstyles are those that don’t require a lot of maintenance and are easy on the hair strands. That means there is minimal to no combing, brushing or tugging on the hair. As always, we want to keep the combing, brushing, styling etc. to a minimum to stay away from that ugly “B” word…BREAKAGE.

The “Funky Frohawk” is one of my favorite hairstyles. It’s such a quick, cute and easy style. It allows you to achieve the mohawk look without cutting or shaving the sides of your head. It also allows your inner Punk-Rock Chick to peek out and rear her “Funky” head. 🙂

I wanted to rock something a little different, so I transformed my curly afro into a “Funky Frohawk” in about 5 minutes. I used a soft bristle brush, a couple of hair pins, four side combs and a dab of Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m a huge fan of Shea Moisture products. A while back I tried and fell hard for their Purification Masque from their Organic Black Soap line of hair products. Let me just say that this is the best damn deep conditioner that I have ever used in my life! Yes! It’s that serious! So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of my love affair with this product.

So, let’s talk trimming. I touched on the importance of trimming your hair in a previous post. It had been about 6-7 months since my last trim…well it was more like a cut. I chopped off my relaxed ends in February of 2012 and my hair was very uneven and choppy. I needed a good, even cut to set the foundation for healthy and strong ends. I waited a few months after my big chop and my sister (…who’s pretty damn good with hair but doesn’t like to admit it 🙂) cut about an inch off in June of 2012. So, it had been a good while since my last trim/cut.

I get lots of questions about my wash n’ go/curly afro, so I wanted to give you the rundown on how I achieve this look. The wash n’ go is my go-to and all time favorite hairstyle. It’s simple, easy to maintain and makes my curls POP!

I start with freshly washed, conditioned and detangled hair. I then section my hair into four sections. I always work with my hair in sections; it’s a lot easier to handle.

Natural oils are a great addition to your hair care regimen and are essential for softer, stronger, luxurious shiny hair. There are so many awesome natural oils out there such as avocado oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil…and the list goes on.

What is a “natural oil” or what makes an oil “natural”? Natural oils are derived from plants and trees, and can be used in their pure form. Lots of natural oils are also unrefined. Manufacturers will use several different methods to extract natural oils from plants and trees, and an oil will be either refined or unrefined based on how the oil is extracted. Oils that are unrefined are left in their virgin state, a lot more robust, and much richer in their nutrient content. Many natural oils are edible and can be used for cooking, skin care and hair care. So, what are my favorite natural oils?

Let’s talk hair products! If you haven’t heard of or used Shea Moisture products you are missing out. Shea Moisture is one of my favorite product lines. Not only are their products loaded with all natural ingredients, they are also reasonably priced. I tried the Thickening Shampoo (12 0z.), Volumizing Conditioner (12 oz.), Thickening Moisture Mist (8 oz.) and the Anti-Breakage Masque (12 oz.) from Shea Moisture’s Organic Yucca and Baobob line. I purchased all products from Target for $9.99 per bottle.

Hola, Ladies! So, I am not a big fan of twist-outs. I LOVE them on other naturals but they just don’t seem to work out to well on my hair. I always opt for my wash n’ go turned curly, kinky fro. My co-worker rocked a gorgeous flat twist-out last week and suggested that I try one. If you aren’t familiar with twists, there are two different types of twists: two strand twists and flat twists. Two strand twists are your simple individual twists. Flat twists are similar to cornrows except they are done with two pieces of hair rather than three. If you aren’t familiar with flat twists or how to do them, check out the link below. Blakizbeautyful is on of my favorite Youtube vloggers and this is one of many videos she has on flat twists.

I’m still working on my flat twisting skills, but I am managed to flat twist my entire head. I flat twisted on dry hair and applied a light mist of water (moisturizer), a little whipped shea butter (sealer) and Miss Jessie’s Curly Meringue (styler). Well, I must say, I was very pleased with the results and I think I can get use to rocking this style more often! I had great definition and I didn’t have to pick out or manipulate my hair too much because it just fell into place. I’m loving the corkscrew curls!